The mobile IP protocol enables a mobile node to move freely from one point of connection to another in various networks it visits along its route. When the mobile node attaches to a visited network, it may need to perform protocol operations to obtain authenticated network access. Once the mobile node is authorized to access the visited network, it may then engage in communications that might require support for features such as Quality of Service (QoS), header compression, buffering, and security. Typically, a mobile node would communicate a request for such features at its point of connection to the visited network. However, the visited point of connection may need to ensure that the mobile node is appropriately authorized by a trusted agent, such as a domain Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) server or the like, prior to actually enabling the requested features.
When a mobile node leaves the current visited point of connection and attaches to a new point of connection for another visited network, the mobile node must often repeat the operations to obtain authenticated network access. Furthermore, the new visited point of connection may also need to determine if the mobile node is appropriately authorized to access the requested features. However, during the movement of the mobile node from one connection point to another there should be minimal disruption to an application running on the mobile node. Unfortunately, a disruption may arise due to response latency, packet loss, and the like, during a handover of the mobile node from one point of connection to another point of connection. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.